Rail switch point lifting means



Dec. 12, 1950 G. w. GRAY ET AL RAIL SWITCH POINT LIFTING mums 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 18, 1945 Dec. 12, 1950 G. w. GRAY ETAL 2,533,929

RAIL swrrcn POINT LIFTING msms 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Filed Sept. 18, 1945 Patented Dec. 12, 1950 UNI [TED S E S A} EN T Q FF if nan wrron e iiermonmms Griffin W; Gray and Charles B. Wade, Roanoke, Va.

Apnlica ien-Sen mher 18, 13. 5,. Ser a Ne- 6. .2. 92

Z Glaims. 1

This invention relates to railway. switches and mo l rly n, im r d. mean f r aci i g t e mo m n o he. switch, points An object of this, invention is to provide a m an h re y itch o nt ll be. s ightl elevated from the tie plates in their movement between the rails, so that the switch points will a i y o b w e e. i s- At he. resen m n e o e i ete he mo em n o he t h. p in w ch. are e er man al mo ed or moved by a power means such as an electric operator, it is. necessary to periodically clean the e. ates w i ser a ides. fo the. wi ch P t d. o o. th r h y re e he tie plates. Unless the tie plates are cleaned and greased at, relatively short intervals they become corroded and sander other foreign matter engages on the upner surfaces. thereof so. as to thereby provide increased frictionwhich requires excessive force to rnove the points and where the po nts a ev me e ih a n w e, eueh. a a motor, the increased friction places undue strain on. he me r.- s he e e n. ob ec f th n en ente pr v de n. eemb net q w th anair i swit oint mean wh r by e peints will'be. evat d. a. g t e re as h y r moved between the rails so that they will; freely more an so ewhere th are a ematie ly Sh e su has by a new er e, n ue. s rain wil b exerted. on. th operator- Anethe object. oi th nr tien e o provide b of n ttac m nt means ar ed er y iz-t e metinl ils-endna r b t e m s where by the mQi/e nent of the points will be facilitated.

A further object of this invention is to provide a, means. of this, kind which can be easily and qniclgly applied; to the points and the, rails and which. will not be subjected to any. pressure sire-ins d r ng t e mov ent o a tra n e er he rai s nd, he p int A fur he obj c l h iee is to r i e niea-nsof thiskind whic is Oe eiQI e-Q b twee a. pair of ties; and spaced: from the terminal; ends of the points and will not interfere with the normal; movement of the points.

To. foregoing objects, and others. which may hereinafter more fullyappear, the. invention consists of the novel. construction, combination and arrangementof parts, as will be more specifically referred to illustrated in the aceoinpanying drawings, but it is to be understood that changes variations, and modifications may be resorted to which fail within the scope of the in n iee es .el meet 1 carrier.

In the drawings;

Figure 1 is a transverse section of a pair of rails and a pair of switch oints having connected thereto means constructed according to an embodiment of this invention to facilitate't-he shifting of the points relative to the rails,

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view partly broken away of one of the device connected to one rail and one point F r 3 is e e ien l. ew. hen s b tanti l on the line 3t of Eignre 2 Figure 4 is a sectional View talgen on the, line 4-4 of Figure 2 and Figure 5 s n. nner. ide-elevati n ef he i lfilf Re r n to he fla es he. numerals ll nd II d nate a pair o mile mou ted. 9. emse es T a s mend H e se er t e. el ee an 4. n e eee e. be we n. t e beee. iii. .es her f, amithe u per idesof the, t es. I A a r o w tch po n s 15 nd it are d e esed beiween h We ail H1 ene H and. ar a a ted be me e ho nt l o th t n or t e. ot er e the se i w l e e ts eseeeia d. r 1- The means for moving the points l5, and I 5, which li blv e ga on t e upp r sid s. oi e i pla es. s and. it, is c n an m y be n t i r n of, a manu ly nerated means; or an auto a ic or power per ted means. The two points. l5, is. each have connected therewith and the rails iii I l have conneted therewith a separate point elevating meansv and as the le at ng mea s or one nei i s de cal w the elevating. means of the other point, the. ole.- scription of one of these means will apply. equally as well to the other.

Th a t, ha disp se the ebe ew el n ate. flat bar I! which is positioned in edeewise. 99%?" i and e leeed t en e vei oi th t e The outer end of the bar 1'? is. twist-eel at right e d. beet. ue erd ri and the tension 13 terminates in a Substantially \(si ahed rail flange gripping jaw is. The bar ii is snoported at itsinner end. so that this bar will be horizontally disposedby means of a bar 2? which is secured by fastening means 2i between a pair of ties 12. The supportin bar 25 has secured to the lower side thereof a pair of angle members 22, which may be secured to the lower side of the supporting bar 2E5 by fastening members 23 or the like. The inner end portion of the horizontal bar l1 engages between the anglemernbers 22 and is secured therebetween by means of a fastening member 24.

The horizontal bar I! has secured thereto a U-shaped cam member, generally designated as 25. The cam member 25 is formed with a V- shaped cam surface 26 which straddles the upper edge of the horizontal bar l5 and the parallel legs 21 of the U-shaped member 25 extend on the opposite sides of the bar I! and are secured in adjusted position alon the length of the bar I 1 by a pair of set screws 28 or other suitable fastening means. The point i5 has secured thereto an inwardly proiec ing bracket arm 29 which is formed with a base plate 30 secured by fastening members 3| to the inner side of the point l5. The arm 29 ncludes a downwardly offset inner end portion 32, which serves as a carrier or support for a roller structure, enerall desi nated as 33. The roller structure 33 includes a subst ntially U-shaped bearing member 34 ha ing a roller 35 disposed therebetween and rotatably mounted on a shaft 36.

A threaded stud 3'! extends upwardly from the bight of the U-shaped member 34 and ex ends through an open ng 38 which is formed in the lower carrier member 32. The stud 3'1! is lock d on the carrier 32 by means of one or more nuts 39. A downwardly dished shield 45 is carried by the carrier 32 being formed with an upper wall 4| and down ardlv and outwardly inclined flan es 42 which overlie the carrie and extend over the roller assem ly 33. The s ield 48 is fo med with a s ot 43 with n which t e unwardly and outwardly extending arm 4 4 of the bracket is adapted to en a e.

In order to ovide for lock ng the U-shaped roller support 34 again t rotation in the carrier 32 we have provided a bar 45. w ich is fixed by fastening means 46 o the lower side of the carrier at its inner end. The bar 45 extends across he lower side of the carrier 32 and enga es a ainst -the'inner end port on o the U-shaned member 44. The cam member 25 is so os tioned along the len th of the supporting b r I! that when the point is in o era ive posit on en a ing the head of the rail ill, the roll r 35 will be subst ntially out of conta t with the outer end portion of the cam surface 26. In this manner w en t tra npasses over the rail and he oint. the weight of the tra n wil Cause the rail and t e point to move downwardlv. but t e upport n bar I'l will ove down ardly therewith and as the roller 35 is normal y t of contac wit +h c m surface 28. t e ro l 35 and the c m structure 25 will not be su jecte to anv pr s re.

In the use and op ation of thi struct re one ro ler. such a th ro ler at he l f in Fi ure 1.

will normally be at he outer en o t e ssociated cam m mber ?5 and t e o os te roller will be at the inner end o its assoc ted c m mber. Assum ng that the s itch points I5 and iii are to be'shif ed to t e ri ht. as view d in Fig re 1. wh n t e swi h o erator is operated and t e points start their lateral mov m nt. the two rollers 35 will en a e the lower points of the cam surfaces 26. one roller en agin' the outer point of the cam surf ce and the other roller en aging the inner point of the cam surface. These rollers will ride up over the cam surfaces and when the two points have been com let ly s ifted so that the point l6 engages rail l l the right hand roller will be at the outer end of its associated cam member and the left hand roller will be at the inner end of its associated cam member.

This device can be mounted on the rails and the switch points very quickly and as the two points are first elevated and then lowered in their movement from one side to the other the lower flanges of the points are slightly raised from the tie plates, so that the movement of the points will not be frictionally retarded by any abrasive matter, such as sand or the like, or corrosion which may be disposed on the upper surfaces of the tie plates or the lower surfaces of the flanges of the points. The rollers may be mounted in the U-shaped member 34 by antifriction means which is permanently sealed so that the rollers need not be periodically lubricated. The cam surfaces 26 can be periodically lubricated and as these surfaces are relatively narrow and short they will not accumulate any abrasive material. Even though abrasive material or corrosion is disposed on the cam surfaces 26, the rollers will nevertheless freely ride over such retarding elements and shifting of the points will not be frictionally retarded. as is at present the case.

What we claim is:

1. In a railway switch including a pair of points movable relative to a pair of rails, an elongated horizontally extending cam supporting bar for each point disposed longitudinally with and between a pair of ties, said supporting bar being formed of a twisted strap having the major transverse axis disposed vertically at the inner portion thereof and the major transverse axis of the outer portion thereof disposed horizontally, said outer portion being bent upwardiy and formed with a V-shaped hook on the end thereof engaging over the outer edge of the rail base, means carried by said pair of ties for sup porting the inner end of said supporting bar, a cam member including a pair of depending ears slidably engaging on the opposite sides of said inner portion, means extending through at least one of said ears for locking said cam member relative to said inner portion, a roller supporting bracket fixed to a point, a roller carried by said bracket and adapted to engage said cam member during the shifting movement of said point whereby said point will be raised during movement of said point and the path, of movement through which said point will be raised may be controlled by adjustment of said cam member along said cam supporting bar.

2. 111 a railway switch including a pair of points movable relative to a pair of rails, an elongated horizontally extending cam supporting bar for each point disposed longitudinally with and between a pair of ties, said'supporting bar being formed of an inner portion and a connected outer portion, the inner portion having its major transverse axis disposed vertically, and the outer portion having its major transverse axis disposed horizontally, said outer portion being bent upwardly and formed with a V-shaped hook on the end thereof engaging over the outer edge of the rail flange, means including a bar extending transversely between said pair of ties parallel to'a rail, said transversely extending bar including a depending fork straddling said inner portion of said supporting bar and fixedly secured thereto, a cam member including a pair of depending ears slidably engaging on the opposite sides of said inner portion, means extending through at least one of said ears for locking said cam member relative to said inner portion, a roller supporting bracket fixed to each switch point, a roller carried by said bracket and adapted to ride over said cam member during the shifting movement of its associated point whereby said point will be raised during movement of said point and the path of movement through 5 which said point will be raised is controlled by Number adjustment of said cam member along said cam 1,965,803 supporting bar. 2,324,622

GRIFFIN W. GRAY. CHARLES B. WADE.

Number REFERENCES CITED 5,689 The following references are of record in the of 1902 file of this patent: 91815 3g of 1908 UNITED STATES PATENTS 120,412 Number Name Date 299,181 394,744 Whitner Dec. 18, 1888 729,737 853,270 Stifi May 14, 1907 Name Date Post et a1. July 10, 1934 Hewes July 20, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Jan. 15, 1903 Great Britain Apr. 22, 1909 Germany Mar. 23, 1900 Great Britain Oct. 25, 1928 France May 2, 1932 

